Four fifths (80%) of equity release advisers expect the market to grow in 2022, following a resilient performance over the past two years.
Research from later life lender more2life found that almost two thirds (60%) anticipate a return to normal trading conditions and therefore growth, while 20% believe pent up demand will help the market to grow significantly.
Just 1% of advisers felt that the equity release market would shrink in 2022 as a result of more pandemic-related restrictions, while 2% believe the market would likely contract due to regulatory challenges.
More2life said almost half (47%) of advisers also reported a rise in the number of customers proactively contacting them regarding rebroking, suggesting that consumers are growing more conscious of the different options available to them.
The research also explored which product features were most popular, with three quarters (75%) of advisers stating that competitive interest rates was the most important factor to their clients. Other product features which ranked highly included fixed early repayment charges and the ability to make penalty-free repayments.
Meanwhile, over half of advisers (51%) said that inheritance protection was their clients’ least important priority.
Dave Harris, CEO at more2life, commented: “At more2life, we believe strongly in the potential of this market to help a wide number of customers so it is great news that advisers share our optimism, in spite of the unprecedented challenges caused by the pandemic. This growth will be driven by increasingly savvy customers who are more focused on competitive interest rates, fixed early repayment charges and penalty-free repayments than ever before.
“Advisers also see growing numbers of people interested in rebroking to take advantage of the increased flexibility we have seen in products over the last few years. That said, while customers are more sophisticated and the market is growing, we need to continue to focus on ensuring that clients fully understand all their options and make the right choice for their individual circumstances. Advisers are at the forefront of this and more2life will continue to focus on doing all we can to support them as they help increasing numbers of people.”
